15 Free

Machines and cables and dumbbells, oh my! The gym floor is chock-full of equipment to choose from, but where should you start?

Although machines have their place — they’re great for beginners as they assist with form and allow you to lift heavier — free weights can give you more bang for your buck.

Free weights include any weight you can pick up and move around, such as dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells.

Unlike machines, where the movement — and you — are fixed, free weights allow you to work in any range of motion you’d like. This requires you to work against gravity and use those stabilizer muscles to engage.

Below, we’ve curated 15 free-weight exercises for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Are you ready to get lifting?

Before you start a new workout regimen, think about how to maximize your time and effort.

Are you looking to build strength, gain size, or increase your endurance? Decide what your goal is and create your regimen accordingly.

To build strength and size, stick with high weight, low reps, and more rest between sets.

For endurance, go for lighter weights, higher reps, and less rest between sets.

Whatever your goal, aim to work out 4 or 5 days per week.

You can get a good workout in 20 minutes or in an hour, so don't worry about duration as much as the quality and composition of your routine.

Avoid training the same muscle groups hard 2 days in a row; recovery is super important to progress.

In general, you’ll want to perform harder, full-body exercises, like squats, before more targeted, smaller movements, like bicep curls.

Choose heavy, challenging weights — whatever that means for you — if your goal is to gain strength and size.

Opt for lighter (but still challenging at the end of your set) weights for more of an endurance approach.

If you don't perform exercises with proper form, you could miss out on benefits of the movement, or, in more serious cases, cause injury.

Practice the movement with your body weight before you add additional weight.

Once you’ve thought these points through, begin with one of routines below.

If you’re new to lifting weights, don't fret. This beginner-friendly free-weight routine is a great place to start.

As a beginner, focus on working up to 3 sets of 10–12 reps of each of these exercises with as light of a free weight as you need. Rest for 1 minute between sets.

When this gets easy, choose a heavier free weight. After you’ve upped your weight several times and feel strong in the movements below, move on to the intermediate routine.

Glute bridges are a key exercise to strengthen the posterior chain, or the back of your body.

This exercise hits many of the same muscles as a squat would without placing undue stress on your lower back.

The main muscles worked include your:

How to:

A lunge is a unilateral lower body exercise, meaning it works one leg at a time.

It's a great movement to promote leg strength, as well as balance. It can also help remedy strength discrepancies from side to side.

Lunges work bigger muscles like your:

Practice this movement with just your body weight to ensure that you’re stable. When you’re ready, use lightweight dumbbells to start.

How to:

Improve your balance and posture and strengthen your entire upper body with the overhead shoulder press.

This move works your:

Start with two lightweight dumbbells, ensuring that you have the movement down before working on building strength.

If you feel your lower back straining or your torso moving to push the weight overhead, try splitting your stance to provide more balance, or try a lighter free weight.

How to:

An accessible exercise for beginners, the row also hits all of those important posture muscles, like your:

You’ll just need one dumbbell. Choose a moderate weight to start.

How to:

Essentially a chest press on the ground, a floor press is a great exercise to teach bench press to beginners because you can feel your shoulder and back engagement with your upper body flat across the floor.

The main muscles worked in the floor press are your:

How to:

If you’re no stranger to weightlifting, or if you’ve graduated from the beginner routine, try the intermediate routine below.

Complete 3–4 sets here, with a minimum of 8 reps and a maximum of 15.

Regardless of how many reps your programming is calling for, you should barely be able to complete the last one with proper form. Adjust your weight accordingly if this isn't the case.

Touted as a "functional" exercise, squats have a plethora of benefits.

Not only will they strengthen some of the largest muscles in your body, they’ll help you perform everyday tasks with ease.

Weighted squats can actually be considered a full-body exercise, but they target muscles like your:

Choose a lightweight barbell to start, as you’ll have to safely load it onto your shoulders from the floor.

Once you can back-squat more than 30 or so pounds, transition to a squat rack to ensure that you can set up and squat safely.

How to:

Deadlifts are a super beneficial exercise to incorporate into your routine, but nailing correct form can take some practice.

Because it hits muscles from head to toe, the strength benefits are nearly unmatched.

The main muscles targeted include your:

Again, start light here until you can execute with proper form. Deadlifts have a reputation for stressing the lower back.

How to:

A progression on the single-arm dumbbell row, the bent-over row takes it up a notch with no added support and two dumbbells instead of one.

Muscles worked include your:

In this variation, you’ll target your core, too.

How to:

Challenge your chest in a different way with the floor chest fly.

You really need to be in tune with what muscles are initiating the movement here to ensure that you’re executing with proper form.

Main muscles worked include your:

How to:

A progression on the overhead shoulder press, the Arnold press — made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger — requires a bit more finesse. It targets the front of the shoulder a bit more.

Muscles worked include your:

How to:

When you can solidly complete the beginner and intermediate routines, give the advanced routine a go.

Here, you’ll challenge more of your balance, stability, and strength.

Aim for 3–4 sets of 8–15 reps, upping the weight accordingly.

Take your row up a notch with the renegade version, which combines a plank with a row.

This exercise works your:

Start with lighter dumbbells here until you get the form — and endurance — down.

How to:

Up the ante with a single-leg dumbbell deadlift. It’ll give you the same benefits of a deadlift with extra core work.

You won't be able to go quite as heavy, but the added balance work will still challenge you.

Muscles worked include your:

How to:

Challenge your balance and strength again with the Bulgarian split squat, a can't miss exercise for leg strength.

Main muscles worked include your:

How to:

One of the "Big 3" weightlifting exercises, the barbell bench press is one of the best upper body exercises for overall strength.

You’ll hit main muscles like your:

Go conservative on your weight unless you have a spotter with you.

How to:

A front squat targets the quads a bit more than a regular squat. It also requires more core strength as the weight is shifted to your front instead of on your back.

Muscles worked include your:

How to:

Choose a goal, start at an appropriate level, and watch your results come.

Remember, making it to the advanced movements doesn't mean you can't revisit the beginner routine. These 15 free-weight exercises are beneficial no matter how advanced your fitness level.

Nicole Davis is a writer based in Madison, WI, a personal trainer, and a group fitness instructor whose goal is to help women live stronger, healthier, happier lives. When she's not working out with her husband or chasing around her young daughter, she's watching crime TV shows or making sourdough bread from scratch. Find her on Instagram for fitness tidbits, #momlife, and more.